Stuart Little 2

Stuart Little 2
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rob Minkoff
Screenplay by	Bruce Joel Rubin
Story by	Douglas Wick Bruce Joel Rubin
Produced by	Douglas Wick Lucy Fisher
Starring	Michael J. Fox Melanie Griffith Nathan Lane Geena Davis Hugh Laurie Jonathan Lipnicki James Woods Steve Zahn
Cinematography	Steven Poster
Edited by	Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Production companies	Red Wagon Entertainment Franklin/Waterman Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	July 19, 2002 (2002-07-19)
Running time	77 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$120 million
Box office	$170 million

Stuart Little 2 is a 2002 American live-action/CGI animated film directed by Rob Minkoff. It stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie, and Jonathan Lipnicki and the voices of Michael J. Fox, Nathan Lane, Melanie Griffith, James Woods, and Steve Zahn. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film, based on original children's book by E. B. White. The film was released to theaters on July 19, 2002. It is also the final film in the trilogy to have a theatrical release.

The film was followed by the third film, a direct-to-video sequel entitled Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild in 2005. However, unlike the previous two films, which were hybrids of live action and animation, the third one was entirely animated.

Plot

Three years after the first film, Stuart Little questions his ability after a disastrous soccer match alongside his brother George, who accidentally kicked him with a soccer ball. He grows more discouraged after accidentally breaking George's model airplane. Stuart's father, Frederick, tries to encourage him, telling him that "every cloud has a silver lining".

Later, a canary named Margalo falls into Stuart's car on his way home from school. Margalo is secretly assisting a peregrine falcon named Falcon to steal from households upon earning the homeowners' trust. Orphaned as a child, Margalo assists Falcon in exchange for a home. However, when Stuart offers to let her live with the Littles, Margalo grows reluctant to steal from them. Unable to concentrate on her assignment for Falcon, Margalo becomes close friends with Stuart. Falcon eventually loses patience and threatens to eat Stuart unless Margalo gives him Mrs. Little's ring. Concerned for Stuart's safety, Margalo steals Eleanor Little's wedding ring.

When the Littles discover that the ring is missing, they think it has fallen down the sink drain. Stuart offers to be lowered down the drain on a string to get it, but the string breaks while he is down the drain. A guilt-stricken Margalo saves him, then leaves the Little house the following night to protect Stuart. Upon realizing Margalo's disappearance, Stuart assumes she has been kidnapped by Falcon and decides to rescue her with the Littles' cat Snowbell. Running away from home, Stuart asks George to lie about his whereabouts to his parents while he is gone.

With the help of Snowbell's friend Monty, Stuart and Snowbell discover that Falcon lives at the top of the Pishkin Building. There, Stuart discovers that Margalo stole his mother's ring. When Margalo tries to reassure Stuart that she really is his friend, Stuart begs her to come home with him. Unwilling to lose his asset in Margalo, Falcon then attempts to kill Stuart by dropping him from the top of the building. However, Stuart lands in a passing garbage truck. Falcon traps Margalo in a paint can as punishment for being Stuart's friend, but Snowbell manages to reach the top of the building while Falcon is absent and release her.

Regaining consciousness on a garbage barge, Stuart feels like giving up until he finds George's broken model airplane, which he fixes using material on the barge and uses to return to Margalo. Meanwhile, the Littles discover that George has been lying about Stuart's whereabouts and demand to know where he is. George tries not to break the promise, but when Frederick tells him that Stuart's safety matters more, George tells them that he is at the Pishkin Building and the family head out to the location. As Falcon is about to kill Snowbell, Margalo declares her independence from Falcon and attempts to flee from him with Eleanor's ring. Before Falcon can catch up, Stuart catches Margalo in his plane.

The Littles follow them by taxi as they begin to fly through Central Park, with Falcon closely pursuing them. Knowing they cannot outrun Falcon, Stuart decides to attack him directly. Using Eleanor's ring to temporarily blind Falcon, Stuart jumps out of the plane just before it strikes Falcon, defeating him. Margalo catches Stuart, and they reunite with the Littles to return home. Sometime later, Margalo says goodbye to the Littles and leaves to migrate south for the winter. After this, Martha, George and Stuart's new sister, says her first words, "Bye-bye Birdie", much to the delight of the family, who celebrate before heading into the comfort of their home.

Cast

• Michael J. Fox as Stuart Little, the title character, a mouse adopted as the middle child of the Little family.
• Melanie Griffith as Margalo, Stuart's new friend, a canary who befriends Stuart but is forced by the Falcon to steal Eleanor's ring.
• Nathan Lane as Snowbell, the family cat. He ventures out to the city with Stuart to save Margalo.
• James Woods as The Falcon, a ferocious and tyrannical creature who forces Margalo to steal items from households.
• Geena Davis as Eleanor Little, Stuart and George's mother, who is deemed very overprotective of Stuart.
• Hugh Laurie as Frederick Little, Stuart and George's father and Eleanor's husband. He tells Stuart about the "silver lining".
• Jonathan Lipnicki as George Little, Stuart's older brother. When Stuart leaves to search for Margalo, George becomes pressured to cover up the situation to his parents until they find out.
• Steve Zahn as Monty, Snowbell's alley cat friend who still wants to devour Stuart after three years. He gives Stuart and Snowbell information on the Falcon.
• Anna and Ashley Hoelck as Martha Little, George and Stuart's new little sister. Throughout the movie Eleanor attempts, and fails, to get her to talk. She then does so at the end of the movie, when Margalo leaves and she utters the words "Bye bye Birdie" much to the family's delight.
• Marc John Jefferies as Will, George's new friend.
• Jim Doughan as the soccer coach, an anxious soccer coach who is also strict when he tells a mean kid on the team named Wallace to stop teasing George.
• Brad Garrett as Rob, the plumber who is hired to come and search for Mrs. Little's ring when the Littles think it fell down the drain.
• Amelia Marshall as Rita, Will's mom

Release

This film was originally released on VHS and a special edition DVD with multiple special features, on December 10, 2002. It has also been released on a Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack.

Reception

At Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 81% approval rating based on 122 critic reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Stuart Little 2 is a sweet, visually impressive sequel that provides wholesome entertainment for kids." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 66 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Ann Hornaday wrote a positive review in The Washington Post, noting how the film's idealized setting makes it family-friendly. Hornaday praised the vocal performances of Fox, Griffith, and Woods in their roles as Stuart, Margalo, and Falcon, respectively, as well as the characters' computer animation: "The animated characters engage in such natural movements and, more important, exude such subtle emotional expression that they mesh seamlessly with their live-action counterparts." In a review published in the Chicago Reader, Tom Shen described the film as "fairly formulaic", but praised its jokes as "hilarious", especially those coming from the character of Snowbell, the Littles' cat.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, Music from and Inspired by Stuart Little 2, was released by Epic Records on July 16, 2002 on Audio CD and Compact Cassette. The final two tracks are score cues composed by Alan Silvestri. Tracks in bold are not heard in the film.

1. "I'm Alive" by Celine Dion − 3:28
2. "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" by Mary Mary − 3:09
3. "Top of the World" by Mandy Moore − 3:22
4. "Another Small Adventure" by Chantal Kreviazuk − 2:57
5. "One" by Nathan Lane − 2:18
6. "What I Like About You" by The Romantics − 2:56
7. "Hold On to the Good Things" by Shawn Colvin − 3:30
8. "Count on Me" by Billy Gilman − 3:42
9. "Smile" by Vitamin C − 3:58
10. "Alone Again (Naturally)" by Gilbert O'Sullivan − 3:38
11. "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf − 3:30
12. "Little Angel of Mine" by No Secrets − 3:47
13. "Falcon Finito" by Alan Silvestri − 6:51
14. "Silver Lining" by Alan Silvestri − 4:21

Video game

Stuart Little 2 (2002) was released for PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, and Microsoft Windows.

Awards and nominations

Year	Awards	Category	Nominee	Result
2002	BAFTA Children's Award	Best Feature Film	Douglas Wick Lucy Fisher Rob Minkoff Bruce Joel Rubin	Nominated
2003	Golden Trailer Award	Best Animation/Family Film		Nominated
	Visual Effects Society Award	Best Character Animation in an Animated Motion Picture	Tony Bancroft David Schaub Eric Armstrong Sean Mullen	Won
		Best Visual Effects Photography in a Motion Picture	Earl Wiggins Mark Vargo Tom Houghton Anna Foerster	Nominated
	Young Artist Award	Best Family Feature Film	Rob Minkoff	Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Stuart Little 2 at IMDb
• Stuart Little 2 at AllMovie
• Stuart Little 2 at the TCM Movie Database